Bena, California
Unincorporated community in California, United States
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Bena (formerly Pampa)[2] is an unincorporated area of Kern County, California.[1] It is located on the Union Pacific Railroad 7 miles (11 km) west-northwest of Caliente,[2] at an elevation of 863 feet (263 m).[1] The Pampa post office operated from 1889 to 1890 and again during 1901.[2]
Bena | |
|---|---|
  Bena Location in California  Bena Bena (the United States) | |
| Coordinates: 35°19′36″N 118°44′23″W | |
| Country | United States |
| State | California |
| County | Kern County |
| Elevation | 863 ft (263 m) |
Railroad history
The Bena railroad station was built in 1885.[3] In 1918, Standard Construction agreed to build four rail operators' houses near Bena for Southern Pacific.[4] In 1962, the old Bena railroad station became the site of the largest superphosphate manufacturing plant west of the Mississippi River.[3]
The Southern Pacific and Santa Fe Railroads donated the old Bena depot, once located a few miles from the Tehachapi Loop, to Kern Pioneer Village in 1961.[3][5] Bena Depot was fully restored by the Kern County Museum in 2020.[6]
Oil fields and landfill
The area near Bena was the site of wildcat drilling for oil in the 1930s[7] and 1940s.[8]
Kern County now operates a landfill at Bena.[9]
